Republican Congressman Mike Coffman on Thursday launched a new congressional caucus to push for a constitutional amendment requiring the federal government to operate off of a balanced budget.

Joining forces with a Democratic lawmaker from Georgia, Jim Marshall, Coffman (R-Aurora) said the caucus would push for passage of House Joint Resolution 1, which would require a balanced federal budget unless three-fifths of lawmakers in both houses vote otherwise.

The balanced budget amendment has been a perennial cause among fiscal conservatives stretching back to the 1930’s in Washington. A version passed the House of Representatives in 1995 and 1997, but failed both times to get through the Senate.

All but one state has some version of a requirement for a balanced budget, but many economists point out that federal deficit spending can be an important tool to boost the economy in times of recession. Balancing the federal budget over the course of a multi-year business cycle is a better approach, many experts say.

“We were looking for ways the Congressman could advocate for and pursue the idea of a balance budget amendment and this looked like the best way to do it,” said Coffman’s spokesman, Nat Sillin.

“When he talks about what issues are most important to him, deficit and the debt — and by extension balance budget amendment — are at the top,” Sillin said.

So far, the Balanced Budget Amendment Caucus has five members (three Republicans and two Democrats), but official invitations are only now being sent to members, Sillin said.